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The Final...- Pt. 9The Final Mission Part Nine by Aquila Rating: PG-13 == When Yuris stuck his head through the bedroom door, which was wide open, he failed to see their guest. Thinking that he might be in the en suite facility, he called out. “Professor Tucker? Do you have a moment?” He heard a thud, a curse, then another thud, followed by an eruption. The bed frame heaved. Yuris wondered if they were experiencing seismic activity, but dismissed the idea as the floor under his feet was still. “Professor?” Yuris stepped around the heaving bed to find a pair of squirming trouser legs extending from under it. Muffled curses continued to drift upward. So Yuris grabbed the bed rail and pulled, exposing a prone and disheveled Trip Tucker. Yuris held the bed at an angle, while his guest scrambled to his feet. “Doc, would ya hold it right there, just a minute?” Trip opened the drawer in the bed side table and extracted a portable lighting device. He switched it on, passing the light over the bottom of the mattress and the area of the floor, which had been covered by the bed. “Nothing.” Trip signaled with the lighting device to Yuris to return the bed to its proper elevation. “Thanks.” “You have lost something of value, Professor?” Yuris did not know what to make of the man’s actions. “Since you and ma wife made babies together, don’t ya think we should be on a first name basis?” Trip did not try to hide his hostility toward the Vulcan male. “She said that you would be jealous.” Yuris regretted the remark when he noted the murderous expression on the Human’s face. “How would she know?” Trip huffed. “T’Pol never gave me cause to feel jealousy before I met you and your sons.” “Trip? That is the name you would prefer I use?” T’Pol had referred to her husband as Charles in his presence, yet Phlox had said his name was Trip. “I suppose Yuris is the only name you divulge to other species.” Trip knew he sounded petty. “I never could pronounce T’Pol’s private name, ‘cept in my head, when we were tradin’ thoughts durin’…” Trip felt he might have divulged more information than was completely necessary. “But ya probably already know all that.” “Phlox and I must apologize for omitting a detail that, to us, seemed insignificant. I was merely the sperm donor. Phlox was…the intermediary.” Yuris hoped the Human would understand. He was not comfortable discussing the details of the conception. “Ya never touched her?” Trip sought clarity. “She was your wife.” Yuris was appalled that Tucker would have thought for one moment that he would have cuckolded another man. “Did ya offer yer services or did she solicit your help?” Trip realized too late that his choice of words reflected poorly on T’Pol. “I explained. Phlox was the intermediary.” Yuris repeated earnestly. “Oh no, not like…” Trip searched for an allusion, “Like Cyrano and Roxanne?” “Not exactly, but the analogy works for our purposes.” Yuris sighed with relief. “Now that you understand the situation more fully, may we return to the moment?” “Oh. What was I doin’ under the bed?” Trip liked the Vulcan, now that he was no longer a rival. Yuris did not waste time on idle chatter. “Lookin’ for a message from T’Pol. I’ve searched every cupboard, drawer and hiding place in this room, but I haven’t found it.” Yuris and Trip had the same telepathic thought at the same moment. The intermediary! Neither one noticed that they had communicated silently. They were too intent on finding Phlox. == “Gentlemen, I am not ready.” Phlox shooed them away with his hand from the counter where he was working. “Come back in thirty minutes. And may I suggest that you change your attire? We are dining with the Attorney General this evening.” Trip and Yuris exchanged thoughts of surprise and exasperation. Absorbed in his experiment, Phlox failed to notice the body language, so he wasn’t prepared when Trip roared. “Where is it, Phlox?” Phlox jumped, knocking over the beaker of liquid. “Professor Tucker, it took me twenty days to distill that liquor. You are a man of science how could you be so rude?” Yuris stepped between the two. “The professor will apologize, no doubt. As I am partly to blame for the situation, please accept my apologies also, Doctor Phlox.” “You?” Phlox looked from one to the other. They were agitated. Tucker obviously so. Yuris in the tight lipped way that was fundamental to Vulcans. “Has something happened to the children?” Phlox’s heart skipped a beat. “I assure you, Doctor, the children are safe in their cradles. D’nar is watching them.” Yuris wanted to regain control of the situation, but did not know how. Trip hearing his mental distress, spoke up, “Did T’Pol leave you a message for me, Phlox?” “Yes, she did.” Phlox began to mop up the spill. Trip was stunned into silence. Yuris responding to the anguish the Human projected took over. “Trip would like to see the message.” “He can’t.” Phlox wrung out the towel under running water in a lab sink. “Excuse me?” Trip moved forward threateningly, his face red with anger. Yuris stepped in again. “Clarify, please, Phlox.” “T’Pol’s instructions were precise. I can not give the message to Professor Tucker, until he has dined with the Attorney General.” End of Part Nine. Have a comment to make about this story? Do so in the Trip Fan Fiction forum at the HoTBBS! |